It Was the Way He Smiled
by Starsabove0oru
Summary: Even in an alternative universe, Yuki and Shuichi are meant to be together. Will their new love be able to overcome desperate forces trying to tear them apart?
1. It Was The Way He Smiled

**Hi everyone! I originally wrote this as a birthday present to someone special, but then I decided to share it all with you! This an AU one-shot between Yuki and Shuichi. They meet for the first time at one of Tohma's parties. Bad Luck has already released their first CD, which was very successful. Yuki is engaged to Ayaka, but they don't live together. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation and the song "You and Me" used belongs to Lifehouse. I also changed the "shes" to "hes" in the song, in order to accommodate the fact that this is a story between two males. **

**Three or four cusses used, suggestive themes, etc. Nothing too bad. Enjoy! **

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**It Was the Way He Smiled **

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Eiri Uesugi (commonly known as Yuki Eiri to the general public) was extremely bored. He was at one of Tohma's ridiculously extravagant parties, sulking on a soft beige couch. Everyone else, including his fiancé, Ayaka, was up and bustling around elsewhere, excitedly chattering, laughing, and in some drunken cases, singing and dancing. There were way too many people at this particular party, from Tohma's business associates, to Mika's mild acquaintances, to some stupid bands that didn't deserve to be as famous as he was.

Luckily, Tohma's house was large enough to accommodate all the people that showed up. This didn't change the fact that Yuki did _not_ like parties, did _not_ like being asked for autographs, and most importantly, did _not_ like people.

What was Yuki doing at a party? His sister had threatened him, because some of her friends were "dying" to _finally_ meet him. His future wife had pleaded with him, saying that it would be weird to show up at a party without him. His brother-in-law had forcefully suggested that he go to the party, not without flashing his brilliantly fake smile first of course.

So as soon as Yuki had arrived with Ayaka, he had smiled and politely talked to his adoring female fans (all while mentally lighting them on fire), left Ayaka with Noriko, and lied through his teeth when Tohma had asked him if he was having a good time. And everyone was satisfied with this, because no one minded when Yuki retreated to a more secluded room in Tohma's house.

Yuki was in a tiny, intimate room that consisted of a few comfy couches, a glass table conveniently thrown in the middle adorned with drink coasters, dim lights, and smooth jazz music playing the background. He would have gone to sleep, but he knew that Tohma was scurrying around looking for him by now… and the blonde didn't want to wake up to the pianist sitting on top of him, caressing the side of his face or something bizarre like that.

_When is the night going to end?_ Yuki took his cell out of his pocket and checked the time. _It's only eleven…_ Tohma's parties usually ended around one or so.

Yuki let out another sigh and gazed around the room. He saw some kid with green hair, deep in conversation with one of Tohma's underlings… Yuki frowned, trying to remember the man's name. _Blue hair, dorky glasses, neurotic…_ The blonde then shrugged in defeat, turning his attention to the boy instead. This one was a relative of Tohma's… and they had plenty in common, despite the fact that they looked nothing alike. They were serious, no-nonsense, hardworking pianists. They were both blatantly rude sometimes. They were both famous, as well.

Yuki then looked at a married couple, friends of Mika's. They were lovingly gazing at each other, with passion and sincerity that he would never share with Ayaka. Theirs would be a marriage of convenience, much like Tohma's to Mika. Yuki frowned, slightly unnerved by the love seeping out of the lovers' pores.

Looking at the pair made Yuki sick to his stomach. True love didn't exist. These two were mostly likely going to be fine for about two years. Then the wife would get pregnant, moody, and unreasonable. The husband would become irritable, impatient, and distant. They'd start having arguments, screaming matches, door slamming contests… until of course the kids were born and then they'd pretend to still be in love, hiding behind fake smiles, flippant I-love-yous, and meaningless kisses.

Finally, when that lifestyle became too unbearable and using the kids as an excuse to stay together was finally worn-out, the once happy couple would divorce, splitting the "family" and psychologically ruining their children's lives. But of course before the parents went their separate ways, all while court dates and child support payments lurked about in the future, they would never neglect to proclaim their endless love for the children and needlessly remind the kids that they were _never_ to blame.

And people wonder why misanthropy exists.

Yuki scowled, completely disgusted now that he had mapped out the couple's future. To put it frankly, he was pissed off… and praying that he would never have children with Ayaka. He stood up abruptly, earning a questioning glance from Tohma's cousin, and left the room just as quickly.

Once out in the hallway, Yuki leaned against it, bending his head and wishing himself elsewhere. He never should have come.

Yuki stood there in silence, keeping his eyes shut. This calmed him somehow. No one walked through the hallway, which was a good thing, too. The blonde began breathing deeply. His psychiatrist had said something about not analyzing other people's lives, that it was none of his business and all that. Well, what the hell was he supposed to do, sitting there all alone, all while those two love birds practically infected everyone else in the room with the possibility that true love existed?

And besides, he was a writer, and writers thought about everything. Well, in his case, everything bad, being that he was a hopeless pessimist, but that didn't make a bit of difference. There was nothing wrong with predicting the future. Actually, he wasn't predicting; there was no doubt in his mind. That couple was doomed to divorce.

After arguing with himself for about two minutes, Yuki finally grew tired and decided that he wanted more wine. That would mean going into _public_ area. He would have to endure annoying small talk and be social for about ten minutes. And because he would have to be stationary for a while, Tohma would miraculously find him and never let the writer out of his sight again. At this point, Yuki just wanted to slit his throat and be done with it.

_Maybe that damned psychiatrist was right… maybe I do think too much._ Yuki opened his eyes, only to find Tohma himself standing right in front of him. _You've got to be freaking kidding me!!! How the hell did he find me so fast?!? No one is supposed to be here!!!!_

"Eiri, Eiri. What are you doing out here?" Tohma grinned widely at Yuki, and gestured to the noise coming from down the hallway. He began walking down the hallway and Yuki had no choice but to follow, damning all of humanity for spawning such a control freak like him. "Now, now, Eiri, don't glare at me like that. There's someone you need to meet. He would like an autograph, I believe."

Yuki inwardly groaned, raising his eyes to the heavens. _What did I do to deserve this?_ The blonde writer shuffled his feet along, wearing his sullen expression until Tohma led him into a huge room stirring with social activity. The room was packed and everyone was talking and smiling and drinking and it just made Yuki feel even sicker. To make matters worse, both Mika and Ayaka were in this room.

Yuki followed Tohma through the crowd, forcing himself to smile at those he passed by. At last, the pianist stopped paying attention to Yuki. Tohma was conversing pleasantly with some blonde, American man wearing shades and holding a large rifle. Before Tohma could turn around, Yuki had already leapt for one of the empty couches. He did _not_ want to be around some gun-happy creep.

After safely seating himself in a light green couch, which was decorated with dark green swirls, Yuki let out an uncomfortable sigh, his eyes darting about the room, taking in his surroundings. So far, neither Mika nor Ayaka had noticed his presence. And Tohma wasn't concerned with him for once. If any one of them began to make their way towards him, Yuki would just disappear into the crowd. It was the perfect plan. He would just sit here quietly, until…

"Neeeeeeeeeeeee, have you seen Shu-chan, na no da?" An annoyingly high-pitched voice broke Yuki's mental concentration. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Ryuichi Sakuma, lead singer of Nittle Grasper, was currently prancing about in front of the blonde, holding his giant pink… thing, of course. "I was talking to him and then he disappeared! Did you see him?"

"No." Yuki answered curtly, more than ready to bash Ryuichi's head in. The man was in his thirties and he acted like he was ten. It was too bizarre. He must've had some kind of Peter Pan complex; it was the only logical explanation-

"Okay! Kuma-chan and I will keep on looking, na no da!" Ryuichi skipped off into the distance, leaving a relieved Yuki behind. No sooner than Ryuichi's beloved Kuma-chan left Yuki's eyesight did a pink head pop up from _behind_ the green couch.

"What the hell?!?" Yuki jumped, turning to look at the male hiding behind the couch. He had messy, pink hair… and startling, purple eyes.

"Sorry… I was just hiding." The male stood up and jumped over the couch so that he was sitting next to Yuki. His energetic movement appalled Yuki and he was forced to bite back his automatic rude comment. "Sakuma-san is my idol and everything… but he's tiring me out. I'm pooped."

Yuki raised an eyebrow in reply. So this was "Shu-chan". He looked quite familiar. "How old are you?" The blonde found himself asking the male.

"Nineteen. I'm Shuichi Shindou, by the way." The boy, Shuichi stuck out his hand towards Yuki, with a bright smile on his face. Yuki reluctantly shook Shuichi's hand. "And you're Yuki Eiri, right?"

"Yes." Yuki answered, a little perplexed by Shuichi's smile. It was unlike any smile he had ever seen before. It wasn't phony and sickly sweet, like Tohma's smile. It wasn't mischievous and perverted, like Tatsuha's, nor bossy or condescending like Mika's. It certainly wasn't like the writer's smile, too forced and small to convey any kind of happiness. No, Shuichi's was a genuine, happy smile that reached his eyes and lit up his entire face, proclaiming to the world "I'm happy! You should be, too!" And for some odd reason, Yuki liked Shuichi's smile.

"Yeah… my sister Maiko begged me to get an autograph from you." Shuichi laughed, making Yuki's eyes widen slightly. How could the boy have such an effect on the blonde? "She kind of threatened me, too."

"Begged?" Yuki raised an eyebrow… partially annoyed that this was the person Tohma had wanted him to meet. "I see."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to irritate you." Shuichi smiled apologetically. "It's just that my sister really, really loves your books and-"

"Just give me the damned thing so I can sign it." Yuki cut in impatiently. He wanted to leave, now. A hurt look passed over Shuichi's face, but the boy instantly hid it. Shuichi pulled a copy of Yuki's latest romance novel and a pen out of his pocket and handed it to Yuki. Yuki rapidly wrote on the inside: _"To my loving fan, Maiko. Enjoy! Yuki Eiri."_

"Thanks…" Shuichi awkwardly put the book and pen away. The two sat in silence for a while, both too nervous to say anything. Not that Yuki would ever admit that a teenager unnerved him so.

_Just say something already!_ Yuki shouted at himself furiously. Rolling his eyes, Yuki turned to Shuichi. At the same time, Shuichi turned to Yuki. Gold met purple and at that moment, time froze.

Yuki found himself lost in the lavender depths. He didn't know why the boy was so tantalizing, he just was. And at that moment, Yuki was actually glad he had come to Tohma's stupid party. He felt like he was inside one of his books.

Yuki opened his mouth to say something, to complete the moment, to perfect it, but something brought them back to the real world. "I FOUND YOU, SHU-CHAN, NA NO DAAA!!" Ryuichi jumped right onto Shuichi's lap, causing the latter to let out a surprised shriek. Yuki's brain snapped back to reality and he instantly turned away from Shuichi, cursing himself and the rest of the world.

Ryuichi smacked Shuichi over the head with Kumagorou. "Don't leave me again, Shu-chan. Let's go shine together, neee?" Ryuichi got up off Shuichi and pulled the boy to his feet. "Tohma says we can sing now!"

"Ummm… okay." Shuichi stole one last willful look at Yuki, only to find the blonde staring flatly at nothing. "Bye…"

Yuki looked up into Shuichi's bright eyes and immediately regretted it. He almost lost himself inside them, but forced himself to look at Ryuichi instead. "Have fun." The blonde said sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest. Why he even responded, Yuki didn't know. Or rather, he didn't want to know.

However, even Yuki couldn't deny the sinking feeling in his chest as Ryuichi led Shuichi farther and farther away, until the novelist couldn't see him anymore.

Shuichi Shindou inwardly sighed as he was pulled further along by his idol, Ryuichi. Usually, he would have leapt at the chance to sing with the older singer. But something about Yuki had seized him, like a bee immersed in a sweet flower. It didn't make any sense for the cold blonde to make such an impression on Shuichi; after all, they had just met. It was weird, though. Shuichi had always known that Yuki existed, had always heard others speak of him, but had never met him before.

_He was gorgeous…_ Shuichi smiled to himself as Ryuichi pulled them both onto a wooden table that was set in the middle of the room. Two microphones were given to the two singers. _He seemed to like me until I asked for his autograph…_

"What do you want to sing?" Shuichi turned to Ryuichi, trying to forget about this Yuki. He was just a stranger and that was all he would ever be.

"Hmmm…" Ryuichi flung Kumagorou on the ground next to the table. "Whatever you want to! Doesn't matter to me!" Shuichi let out a sigh and looked out into the crowd. Nobody was paying attention to them at the moment.

Shuichi wasn't going to try and fool himself any longer. He had felt a connection with the blonde; he couldn't ignore or deny it. Sure, Yuki was a stranger _now_, but if Shuichi got to know him, then the writer wouldn't _be_ a stranger any longer. _Friendship equals foundation for future possibilities! My Triple F Policy!_

Shuichi's amethyst orbs screened the area, until he found Yuki. The blonde was still sitting in the same place, thank goodness! The teen held back a laugh. He could see the famous author glaring at everyone in the room. Shuichi didn't know why Yuki was so angry, but he didn't care. All he wanted at that moment was: Yuki.

Shuichi grinned widely and turned to Ryuichi. "I've got it!" The pink-haired boy shouted joyfully, jumping on the table. This action caused everyone in the room to stare blankly at him. Even Yuki's amber eyes passed over him at one point. The fact that the writer acknowledged him for a spilt second was enough to give Shuichi the courage to sing for Yuki, to Yuki:

**"What day is it? And in what month?  
This clock never seemed so alive  
I can't keep up and I can't back down  
I've been losing so much time**

**'Cause it's you and me and all the people  
With nothing to do, nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you**

**All of the things that I want to say  
Just aren't coming out right  
I'm tripping on words  
You get my head spinning  
I don't know where to go from here**

**'Cause it's you and me and all the people  
With nothing to do, nothing to prove  
And it's you and me and all the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you**

**There's something about you now  
I can't quite figure out  
Everything he does is beautiful  
Everything he does is right**

**'Cause it's you and me and all the people  
With nothing to do, nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of-**

**You and me and all the people  
With nothing to do, nothing to prove  
And it's you and me and all the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you**

**What day is it? And in what month?  
This clock never seemed so alive…"**

Shuichi closed the song off beautifully and grinned as everyone began cheering and screaming and clapping for him. Every guest had been mesmerized by his sweet, angelic voice, his voice that conveyed so much passion. Shuichi was so lost in the euphoria of the crowd, that feeling of fulfillment he got whenever he finished a song and obtained a desired reaction. And it was in this state that Shuichi's eyes found Yuki's.

Yuki was standing upright, staring straight at Shuichi. The blonde had finally realized who Shuichi actually was. And the writer had just been serenaded. And the writer was currently in shock, caught up in the mixture of the exhilaration of the crowd and his own deeply flattered feelings triggered by the touching song.

Shuichi smiled tenderly down at Yuki and pondered on whether to blow the novelist a kiss or not. The singer decided not to, thinking that the poor blonde was stunned enough. He simply chose to gaze down at Yuki, while the blonde stared back up at him. How Shuichi enjoyed looking upon the epitome of exquisiteness and seeing that same perfect countenance watching him…

However, their seemingly perfect moment was ruined by Ryuichi once again. "Nee, Shu-chan, you didn't let me sing at all! I've never heard that song…" Ryuichi pouted, stomping down on the table. "I wanna sing, too!" It seemed as though the crowd lost interest in Shuichi's performance the moment Shuichi tore his eyes from Yuki. The partygoers went back to their secular, selfish business and Yuki sat back down. Shuichi let out a sigh and then a brilliant idea popped into his head.

"Hey, umm, Sakuma-san, why don't you sing the next song? Then we can finish it up with a duet." Shuichi grinned mischievously, stealing a quick glimpse at Yuki. He was still seated at the couch, apparently bored stiff. _Now's my chance!_ Without even giving his idol a second glance, Shuichi leapt off the table.

Shuichi began weaving his way through the crowd, determined to reach his final destination. _And just where is he going?_ Ryuichi scowled suspiciously, but quickly covered it up with a huge smile. Shuichi, as if sensing Ryuichi's bitter thoughts, froze for a moment and began to turn around. He then shrugged off the feeling and continued meandering himself around.

Shuichi breathlessly broke through a mass of people and finally reached Yuki's couch of endless depression. Well, it certainly seemed that way, as if Shuichi had passed into another realm of sorts. Yuki was completely isolated from the happiness, the excitement… the very party itself. Why did he choose to be alone?

Shuichi wordlessly sat back down next to the irritable blonde. Yuki glanced at the singer, but didn't say anything.

_Hmmm… what's a good conversation starter? "My sister is obsessed with you!" Nah, that's not good. Or… "I've never read any of your books, but now I wish I had!" Err… no. I need something good. Something that won't provoke him, cuz I don't wanna be beat senseless or begets a never-ending awkward silence, cuz I want him to remember me._

Shuichi thought and he thought hard. But in the end, it was Yuki who finally broke the silence. He probably sensed the mental strain Shuichi was putting on himself. "Apparently, you're not some one-hit wonder." Yuki raised an eyebrow at the famous boy. "I can see why." _Shit! I didn't mean to compliment him…_

"Thanks!" Shuichi grinned cheerfully. The babble was on. "Our newest song, 'Bird', just broke the top ten the other day! Hiro and I were sooo happy that day we stayed up all night and watched movies and ate junk food in his apartment! And even Suguru showed up, but he was late cuz by then we were already halfway done with RENT and he completely missed Castle in the Sky. Hiro _actually_ went food shopping for the occasion; his fridge was never as packed as it was that-"

"Do you think you're as good as Sakuma?" Yuki interrupted Shuichi. The boy was babbling way too fast. He had to be stopped. But… it wasn't because Yuki was extremely annoyed. He didn't want to bash Shuichi's head in. He actually didn't mind Shuichi's senseless, meaningless chattering. The blonde thought it was… cute. And this distressed him.

Shuichi blushed slightly and looked up at Ryuichi, who was currently singing on the table. _Wow… I didn't even notice that he started…_ The crowd didn't seem to be as mesmerized as before. This was probably because Ryuichi had sung at Tohma's other parties, so the people there were used to hearing him sing. On the other hand, it had been Shuichi's first appearance at one of Tohma's parties.

Ryuichi had the crowd captivated on a different level. He didn't have the new, exciting effect on the crowd that Shuichi did. This did not change the fact that people looked up at Ryuichi with ardent admiration. Shuichi hadn't earned that respect yet. "I know I'm not as good as Sakuma-san." Shuichi turned back to Yuki, with fierce determination in his eyes. "But I know I'm getting better with each performance. Who knows… maybe one day Bad Luck will top Nittle Grasper!"

"Is that so?" Yuki had no idea when Tohma had decided to pop up once again, but the manipulative blonde couldn't have chosen a worse time to appear. "In that case, Shindou-san, you had better get to work on your second album." There was an evil glint in Tohma's eyes… and it pissed Yuki off. The writer could tell how intimidated Shuichi was; the boy looked like he wanted to cower behind the couch.

Yuki's left eye twitched. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" The blonde spat out, crossing his arms over his chest. Shuichi gave Yuki a small, grateful smile. He saw some brunette making her way over to them and fast.

_I wonder who that is. She sure looks pissed off… _Shuichi cocked his head to one side. Yuki followed Shuichi's gaze and inwardly groaned. It was Ayaka and she was currently glaring at the blonde as she stalked over on her long legs.

"Eiri, Shindou-san isn't bothering you, is he?" Tohma completely ignored Yuki's rude comment. Shuichi's face paled. What if he _was_ bothering Yuki?!? What if Yuki didn't want to talk to him?!? And why was Tohma acting creepier than usual? It seemed like everyone wanted to keep them apart…

"No, he isn't." Yuki said through gritted teeth. He didn't want to deal with Ayaka or Tohma so he stood up suddenly. "I don't feel well." The blonde looked down at Shuichi, who looked confused and slightly scared. "I'm leaving."

_NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Yuki don't leave me!!!!!_ Shuichi shrieked frantically inside his head as Yuki stood up. _And who does he think he is, leaving me alone with Tohma?!? He'll escort me into his basement and gouge out my eyes!_

"Can I come with you?" Shuichi blurted out, standing up as Yuki began walking away. The blonde froze and whirled back around. Shuichi even saw Tohma's eyes widen. _Uh-oh… maybe I shouldn't have said that. _Yuki's cold amber eyes stared him down for the longest time. All he could do was smile hopefully.

"Better you than him." Yuki shrugged and kept on walking. Shuichi wanted to jump with glee and throw a party, but he settled for catching up with the blonde instead. The two began making their way towards the door.

_Yay! Yay! _Shuichi couldn't help but beam widely like an idiot. He felt proud, standing next to Yuki as people stared at them. He was going somewhere with the famous novelist that every Japanese girl fantasized about. Shuichi began bobbing his head to the beat of the song Ryuichi was singing. He was in such a good mood!

As Shuichi walked along Yuki, he heard a slight pause in Ryuichi's song. He turned his head around to look at Ryuichi, thinking something was wrong with his idol, only to find Ryuichi staring straight at him. Although Ryuichi had successfully recovered from his slip, he wasn't even concentrating on the song anymore. Ryuichi was staring intensely at Shuichi and this unnerved the latter greatly.

"Let him stare." Yuki noticed Shuichi's reaction. Shuichi smiled up at Yuki and turned his head back around, temporarily forgetting about Ryuichi.

Shuichi followed Yuki down several hallways, through many rooms, and found himself deeply relieved when they finally exited the pianist's excessive home. They walked down the lollipop-shaped driveway, which was packed with cars of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Yuki wordlessly stopped short in front of a fancy, sleek black car that was obviously built for speed and style. Yuki's black car seemed to be an extension of Yuki himself. Shuichi smiled upon realizing this.

Yuki took his car keys out of his pocket and pressed a button on one of them. The car doors slid open by themselves. Shuichi's jaw dropped open as Yuki climbed into his car. He quickly followed suit and the doors gently closed themselves.

"Your car is sooo cool!" Shuichi jumped up and down in his seat. "I don't even have a car… you're lucky."

"You make _how_ much money?" Yuki raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Usually Sakano-san provides transportation for me. If not, I ride with Hiro on his motorcycle." Shuichi answered happily. "Hmm… where should we go?"

"Anywhere you want." Yuki responded curtly. He put the keys in the ignition and zipped off rapidly. Neither of them noticed Tohma's silhouette watching them from a window on the second floor…

* * *

Tohma Seguchi had quite a dilemma on his hands. He was currently alone in his dark study, the door shut and locked. His party was still going on elsewhere; nobody noticed his absence. The blonde was now perched at his wooden, cluttered desk. He glanced out the window again, just to make sure Yuki had really left.

Tohma was always prepared for the unpredictable. But no Madame Cleopatra could have envisioned _that_ happening. Of all people… why Shindou? What was so special about him? Why was everyone so enthralled by him? And the main question, the one that made his very stomach churn with revulsion, was: why Eiri chose _Shindou_ over him?

Tohma needed to regain his composure. Order was all he had and he _would_ keep it together. He would find a way to manipulate the situation so that it ended up benefiting him. That was what Tohma had always done and it was what he would always do. It was as simple as that. What was he even worried about? Shindou was no threat. He was all pocky and no peril.

Tohma leaned forward and folded his hands, concentrating as hard as he could. His controlling mind began toiling and toiling. He would not allow Shindou to destroy his order. It was unacceptable. And Tohma always had a solution, no matter the problem.

Now, economically, Shindou was an asset. The vocalist was an excellent singer and Tohma reaped the benefits of it. N-G Studios' wealth had practically tripled since it took the amateur band under its wing. Bad Luck equaled good publicity, as one of his secretaries had once told him. The boy was hardly ever in the tabloids, and if he was, it was never usually his fault. Yes, so there was no need to get rid of Shindou. In fact, why not exploit him even more?

Tohma grinned widely, despite the fact that no one could see him. He had his idea. It was perfect. It seemed as though, Eiri and Shindou were drawn to each other. What better way to force them apart than to force them together? He would disrupt their chemistry, he would thrust them together.

For once Shindou learned of Eiri's past, the boy would want nothing to do with a "murderer". Eiri's history would scare Shindou off. It was a given.

Eiri, on the other hand, would grow tired of Shindou's constant cheerfulness. It would remind the traumatized writer of the way he used to act before the incident with Kitzawa. Shindou's smiling, his clumsiness, his overdramatic ways, everything that made up Shindou would annoy Eiri.

This was inevitable, because at the end of the day, beyond all the absurdly unfathomable attraction between them, there was one truth Tohma could rely on: Yuki Eiri and Shuichi Shindou were exact opposites. They were doomed to stand apart, no matter what force tried to bring them together.

Among all the factors working against Shindou, family was the biggest hindrance. Ayaka would rather jump off a building than face such a scandal. Eiri's father would never allow such a controversial romance. Ayaka's family would be furious with Eiri and all associated with him. To put it frankly, Shindou wasn't worth the trouble, the risk, and the consequences. Eiri would realize that in time.

Eiri only had one factor blocking his pathway. Shindou would be willing to drop everything for the writer in time: his career, his fame, his happiness, even his voice. Shindou was naturally a giving person; he had always been. Unfortunately, this also made Shindou very likable. The sole factor, the destructive factor standing in Eiri's way was Ryuichi Sakuma. Ryuichi Sakuma was in love with the boy; everyone knew it but Shindou. Tohma knew that once Ryuichi found out the man would do everything in his power to keep Shindou to himself.

Maybe Tohma was jumping to conclusions. Maybe there was nothing to worry about. There was nothing but fleeting magnetism between them. Eiri might have dropped Shindou off at the singer's apartment. They might have gotten sick of each other already.

However, Tohma had seen the look in Eiri's eyes as Shindou sang to him. Tohma had never seen such a look on the blonde's face before. He couldn't even begin to describe the emotions he had seen. And that was why he would have to prevent future happenings. They could not fall in love; Tohma would not allow such a thing to occur. He was simply being preemptive.

Tohma jumped up as someone loudly knocked on his door. "Tohma… are you in there? Open up!" It was Mika, of course. Tohma strolled over and opened it.

"Is there something wrong?" Tohma raised an eyebrow, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind him. Mika wasn't alone. Hiroshi, Suguru, Sakano, Ayaka, K, Tatsuha, Ryuichi, and Noriko were _all_ with her, looking at him expectantly. Tohma inwardly sighed. Sometimes he wished he wasn't always relied on; it was quite an amount of constant pressure.

"Where's Shuichi?" Hiroshi demanded angrily, as if it was Tohma's fault that Shindou had run off with Eiri.

"Did he really leave with Aniki?" Tatsuha studied Tohma curiously. _And how ticked off are you about it?_

"He's got some nerve leaving me here!" Ayaka began ranting and as if on cue, everyone began speaking at once. Tohma raised his eyes to the heavens. All this chaos was unnecessary.

"I assure you, there is no need for alarm." Tohma raised his hand and all the voices toned down. It was time for his flawless plan to commence. "Yes, Shindou-san did leave with Eiri. It is part of a business proposition I have come up with." The blonde turned to Hiroshi and Suguru, who, oddly enough, were standing right next to each other. "In order to intensify Bad Luck's status, you will be releasing your first Christmas Album in approximately three weeks. This album will be unlike your first, because all the songs will be written by Eiri himself."

Everyone was in shock. Tohma smiled and continued on: "Because Shindou-san and Eiri will have to work together for a period of time, I decided it would be best for them to spend some time alone. I do not intend for petty differences to interfere with the possible success of your newest album." The brilliant blonde finished, waiting for the unending questions to arise.

"ONLY THREE WEEKS?!?" Sakano was the first to crack the silence. He screamed and wailed out loud. He then crashed into a nearby wall and passed out.

"Why him?" Ryuichi narrowed his eyes at Tohma.

"I would like for Bad Luck's audience to broaden. If fans of Eiri's work knew he was working on a CD, they would be apt to purchase it." Tohma smiled, loving the possessive look in Ryuichi's eyes. "It's the perfect time of year and if we play our cards right, Bad Luck can increase its popularity sevenfold." Now all he had to do was make a few phone calls. Everything would work out.

"I understand why you've chosen Eiri-san." Suguru spoke up quietly, a frown on his face. "What I don't get is why they need to work together. It seems like a waste of time." _There's something else going on here… I just know it!_

"I wish to project this Christmas Album with a certain allure. The best of both worlds: Eiri, who conveys emotions through the pen and Shindou-san, who delivers those same emotions for all of us to hear. The world will fall in love with this unique, unpredictable collaboration." Tohma smirked pompously. "If you, however, think that my plan was poorly thought out, you may kindly suggest your own."

Suguru blushed slightly and chose not to respond. "Well, now that the 'crisis' is over, I have a loving hubby and beautiful child to go home to." Noriko obviously wasn't bothered by any of this. She strode over and gave Tohma a quick kiss on the cheek. "Great party as always. I promised Tetsuya I'd be home before twelve."

Tohma smiled so gently, it was almost a real smile. That was the price Noriko had to pay for marrying a man old enough to be her father. He gave her a curfew. "Goodnight, Noriko." The pianist patted her on the back.

"Bye Noriko!!" Ryuichi jumped on top of Noriko, which earned him a smack in the back of the head. "That hurt, na no da! Meanie!"

"Idiot!" Noriko snapped out, ready to hit him again. But she refrained from doing so and instead hugged him for a brief moment. "Goodbye, everyone!" The purple-haired woman saluted the group sardonically and strolled off by herself down the hallway. Everyone was caught in another awkward silence.

"I should get going as well…" Ayaka smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, I have no ride home now." She then turned to Hiroshi. "Nakano-san, would you please escort me home?" The guitarist nodded seriously and bid everyone a good night. The two walked off together, conversing with each other comfortably.

Tohma's jaw almost dropped to the floor. It was certainly a night full of surprises. She could have asked Noriko to give her a ride; the brunette had known Noriko for a while. But Hiroshi, whom she had only met this very night? It didn't make any sense! Tohma frowned suspiciously.

"Ch… Everyone's leaving…" Tatsuha beamed evilly at Ryuichi. "Would you like me to… escort you home?" Suguru inwardly shuddered at Tatsuha's actions.

"K is taking me home." Ryuichi answered, giving Tatsuha a weird look.

"Ah, but I can get you home faster!" Tatsuha pledged lovingly, inching even closer to his beloved singer. "The sooner I drive you home, the sooner you can be nestled underneath your warm sheets." _With me in there, too, of course._ Tatsuha ran his eyes up and down Ryuichi's body.

"It would be safer for K-san to drive Ryuichi home. We wouldn't want him to get mauled by any of his obsessive fans, now would we?" Tohma chuckled lightly, deliberately ignoring Tatsuha's glare. "Sakano, would you accompany Ryuichi?"

The phobic man immediately leapt up from the floor as if he had risen up from the dead. "Hai Shachou!" Sakano shouted out, grasping an astonished Ryuichi by the arm. "We'll be going now!" He bowed to Tohma about ten times rapidly.

"Bye everyone!!!" Ryuichi cried out and waved Kumagorou as he was dragged away by Sakano, a man on a mission. K shook his head, grumbled to himself, and trudged after them. Tatsuha muttered curses and obscenities with Tohma in mind. Tohma began asking Mika questions about the success of his party.

"Wait a minute!!" Suguru ran after K. "Don't leave me alone with him!"

"Oh come on… I'm not _that_ bad." Tatsuha rolled his eyes.

"You should be at home by now, Tatsuha. You're still a minor." Mika narrowed her protective eyes at her little brother, as if noticing him for the first. She then griped him tightly by the ear. "I'm taking you home. On our drive home, you can think up of an explanation to tell Father. I'm sure he'd love to know what you've been doing for the entire night."

"Ow… Let go!" Tatsuha shouted out in protest as he was hauled away by his older sister. "Somebody… save me!!!!!!" Tohma walked back into his study and closed the door behind him. _Bastard… Are you going to take a picture of my brother out of your safe and masturbate to it? Stop acting like you're better than me!_

Tohma flicked the light on and sat down at his desk. _Everything is going according to plan. They will not fall in love._ He smiled maliciously and turned the television on. He would watch the news, as he always did. It paid to know what was going on in the world. And then, he would make a few phone calls, one of them to Eiri, in fact. After all, the blonde needed to be informed of his new job, didn't he?

* * *

The next morning, Shuichi woke up, completely rested and very comfortable. Despite the fact that he was lying down on a couch. Well, it was an awfully soft couch, which belonged to none other than Yuki Eiri. The singer smiled to himself.

Last night has been such a blast! The two of them had driven to a candy store (which was surprisingly open that late at night) and Shuichi had probably cleared out all of Yuki's money, buying every kind of candy he possibly could. Then Yuki had taken Shuichi back to his apartment. After Shuichi had explored every nook and cranny of Yuki's home by himself, the boy had found Yuki furiously typing at his laptop.

Shuichi, disregarding the fact that Yuki was working on his newest novel, begged to go onto a website called YouTube. Yuki acquiesced, realizing that it was quite hopeless to attempt to get _any_ work done while Shuichi was there. Upon going onto the desired website, Yuki found videos of Shuichi's live concerts and the two of them had watched quite a few of them, all while Shuichi stuffed himself with candy, candy, and more candy.

While Yuki was taking a shower, Shuichi had then found extra copies of Yuki's most famous novels. As soon as the blonde had stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist, the boy had proclaimed that he would read every one that same night. Yuki had corrected Shuichi, saying that it was actually close to three o'clock in the morning. Shuichi had a mini-heart attack and declared that he needed his beauty sleep at once. So Yuki had thrown some sheets and a pillow onto his couch and Shuichi had gone to sleep on the blonde's couch.

Now Shuichi was sitting up in the couch, smiling in remembrance of his perfect night with Yuki. Shuichi leapt off the couch and scurried into the kitchen. Yuki was sitting at his table, sipping some coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning, Yuki!!!" Shuichi chirped happily, sauntering over to the fridge and taking a drink out. He then plopped down onto a nearby, wooden chair.

"You're still here?" Yuki looked at Shuichi once and then went back to reading the paper. He was surprised at the ease with which Shuichi moved around in his kitchen. It was as if the crazed boy belonged there. It was weird beyond belief.

"You'd better believe it!" Shuichi grinned widely and gulped his juice down. "You can't get rid of me!"

"Evidently, I can't." Yuki turned the page over. Why the hell was he reading the newspaper? It wasn't as if he could take anything in now. As a matter of fact, it was most likely impossible to do _anything_ productive while Shuichi was around. So how the hell was he supposed to work with the boy for three weeks?!?

"I wonder if I'm late for work…" Shuichi said thoughtfully, putting a finger on his chin. "If I'm late again, Suguru will pull out his pocketknife and hack my spleen out. I figured he'd crack first. It's always the quiet-"

"I'll drive you." Yuki interrupted abruptly. _Does he ever shut up?_ The blonde was annoyed with Tohma. He was strictly ordered by the man not to tell Shuichi that they would be working together. Something was up. Why all the orders, the secrets and above all, _why_ a Christmas CD?

Yuki didn't like the holidays. He didn't like Christmas carols or mistletoe or reindeer. He hadn't been in the "Christmas spirit" for a long time. So who was Tohma to tell him to write Christmassy song lyrics? _I'll jingle his bells alright…_ Yuki scowled darkly behind his paper. But then again, Yuki didn't approve of romance either and he had _how_ many bestsellers? So maybe the CD would be a success. And besides, Tohma never usually asked him for anything. Well actually, Tohma never requested, he told. So either way, Yuki didn't have a choice.

Yuki stood up suddenly, ignoring Shuichi's questioning glance. "We'll go to your place first, then N-G Studios." The blonde walked into his living room and Shuichi scurried after him, picking his sneakers up and putting them on.

_How did I get here? I'm in Yuki's apartment-and I can't believe he actually lets me call him by his first name-and he's acting like my chauffer. I really like him… But what if he's only being nice because… actually I can't figure out why he wants me here. Or does he?_ Shuichi frowned and halted in his tracks. Yuki noticed this and turned around expectantly, with one hand on the doorknob.

"Why'd you let me come with you last night?" Shuichi blurted out after a moment of hesitation. _Could I have worded that any more stupidly? _

"It was the way you smiled." Yuki answered immediately and that was that.

* * *

**THE END**


	2. A Passion That Burns Through

**Back by popular demand lol. ****The songs used in this chapter are "Ice Blue Eyes" which is a song from Rurouni Kenshin and "I'll Cover You" which is from RENT. If there are any mistakes, I apologize. My excuse is it's 1:30 in the morning. For some odd reason, my cousin isn't tired. So I'm stuck staying up with her.**

**

* * *

**

A Passion That Burns Through

* * *

A full week had passed since Yuki Eiri and Shuichi Shindou had first met. Needless to say, they had radically changed each other's lives. The two were now partners working on Bad Luck's Christmas CD, entitled: Zaiten no Kosetsu (Heavenly Snowfall). After Sakano had cried and wailed for hours, Tohma finally relented and required that Yuki only write _half_ the songs on Bad Luck's CD. The rest would be remakes of English songs, like The Christmas Song and Let it Snow.

The fact that six of the twelve songs on Zaiten no Kosetsu were not originals did not make everyone's workload that much lighter. Suguru and Hiro had to create and memorize six original melodies, and then reconstruct six Christmas Carols and memorize them. The two band members frequently stayed after hours, repeatedly practicing the same song over and over until both of them were satisfied.

Shuichi had no problem memorizing Christmas Carols, as most of them rhymed and was often found singing them outside of work. He did, however, have some difficulty with the songs Yuki wrote, because he wasn't familiar with them. In the singer's words: "They didn't come from my heart."

Because Shuichi was having difficulty with Yuki's writing, Tohma decided that Ryuichi Sakuma would record one of Yuki's songs with the boy, as to ease him into Yuki's particular style. Yuki reluctantly wrote a duet, which Shuichi and Ryuichi had no problem singing together. "I'll Cover You" became one of the first songs successfully recorded on Bad Luck's CD.

Yuki Eiri was not allowed to write anything that did not pertain to Bad Luck. Tohma had personally called Yuki's editor and explained everything to her. The cynical blonde spent many hours writing and correcting his own songs, since no one else was allowed to touch them.

The most radical change that had occurred was a certain living arrangement. Tohma had insisted that Shuichi move into Yuki's apartment for the three weeks, lecturing everyone about intimacy and trust and how the CD would turn out much, much better if Shuichi and Yuki bonded outside of work.

**

* * *

**

Yuki ran his fingers through his hair angrily. He was working on his newest song, "Ice Blue Eyes", which was in Japanese, thank Heavens. Despite the fact that Yuki knew English (although not as well as Ryuichi), Shuichi was still learning. Oh, the boy had been to America before and even toured there once… but he still needed to work on his English a lot more. One of the most tedious things that held everyone's progress back was Shuichi's difficulty with pronouncing some words.

"Tadaima!!!!!!!!!!!" Yuki cringed at Shuichi's joyous squeal. The blonde heard the door to his apartment slam and then the thudding of Shuichi's feet as the singer ran towards Yuki's study.

_Why didn't I lock the door?_ Yuki groaned out loud. _I have to finish this cursed song…_ Shuichi was going to talk about work for hours, just like he always did. He would complain about how bossy Tohma was, and how bratty Suguru was, and how Sakano had given him too many cups of tea and K had pointed a shotgun in his face for the umpteenth time… If Yuki didn't have this song finished by tomorrow, Sakano would start slashing his wrists. Not that he cared.

"Tadaima, Yuki!" Shuichi burst into the room, practically twirling with joy. He sat down on the comfy couch, bouncing about in his seat.

"Okaeri." Yuki answered grudgingly, not taking his eyes off his laptop.

"Guess what, guess what?" Shuichi gushed excitedly. "Seguchi-san called some guy that's really rich and he's a producer of some band that's on tour right now and Sakuma-san and I get to be an opening act for their next performance. We get to sing 'I'll Cover You'. I can't wait, Yuki, I can't wait! It's sooo exciting!!!!!"

"That's nice." Yuki still didn't look up. He had learned to drown out Shuichi's babbling rather quickly. It was a skill he was proud of.

"And Suguru was being such a jerk today! I mean, he usually is a jerk; I don't know _HOW_ Hiro stands it. We were recording 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' and I got stuck on 'underneath the Christmas tree' a couple times. And Suguru started going on and on about how our new CD was going to suck because me attempting the English language was the equivalent of you attempting to actually put some emotion in your writing.

"And that really pissed me off, because Suguru always bashes me, but that was the first time he ever insulted you. I mean, he doesn't even know you!! So I tore my headphones off and threw them at him! The righteous fury was flowing through my veins!!! I hit that sucker right in the nose! And he was such a baby about it, too!

"Suguru refused to work unless I apologized, but I couldn't. I defended your honor, Yuki, aren't you proud of me?" Shuichi finished, grinning proudly.

"Is that why you're home so early?" Shuichi actually had Yuki's full attention right now. Yuki was flattered that Shuichi would turn violent just for him. He was also trying very hard to _not_ laugh. Shuichi had taken it upon himself to watch Teen Titans in English, in order to study the language. The phrase "righteous fury" had been on the episode Shuichi had watched last night. It was obvious that all the "action-packed" episodes were influencing the boy.

"Yeah… Sakano thought Suguru's nose was broken, so they're at the hospital right now. Work ended early! Now I get to spend the rest of the day with you!!!!!!!!" Shuichi shouted happily, leaping up from his seat.

"Go spend it somewhere else." Yuki snapped out. "I need to finish this song."

"But Yuki… I wanna _do_ something together." Shuichi pouted, sauntering over to Yuki, who was seated at his desk, laptop straight in front of him. Yuki found his patience wearing very thin.

"Get the hell out!" Yuki shouted, whirling around in his chair so that he could glare at the boy. The look on Shuichi's face was enough to make him want to apologize and this infuriated Yuki even more. Shuichi wordlessly left the room, dragging his feet.

Yuki heard the click of the TV in the living room. In a matter of minutes, the annoying theme song to Teen Titans was playing. Yuki couldn't concentrate on his work. All he could think about was the hurt look on Shuichi's face. Yuki wanted to tear his hair out. To make matter worse, the doorbell rang.

Yuki groaned out loud and slammed his head on the desk. That only increased his stress. He heard Shuichi open the door and… dear gods… it was Ayaka. Only her voice was _that_ annoyingly high-pitched. She was practically yelling at Shuichi; Yuki could hear her voice all the way in his study.

Okay, Yuki had a right to be impatient with Shuichi. After all, it wasn't easy living with Shuichi. It had been quite an inconvenient adjustment. But Ayaka? What the hell did she have against Shuichi? So what if they hadn't been on a date in a week? It wasn't like Yuki _missed_ the brunette. He was too busy for her anyways.

Yuki walked out into the living room, only to see Ayaka slap Shuichi right across the face. Shuichi stood there in shock, holding his cheek as Ayaka screamed at him. Yuki saw red. He didn't even hear what Ayaka was saying. He stalked over, grabbed the woman by the arm, and literally shoved her out the door.

"YUKI, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!" Ayaka screeched as loudly as she could as Yuki bolted and locked the door. "OPEN THE DOOR!!!" The blonde then took Shuichi by the arm and took the both of them to the room farthest away from the door. Ayaka's screams became quieter until they finally stopped.

The two of them were in Yuki's bedroom. Yuki basically pushed Shuichi onto his bed and began pacing around. Shuichi sniffled and watched the conflicted blonde. Yuki heard Shuichi's whimper and halted. The novelist knelt down by the singer and took the latter's hand away. Yuki inspected Shuichi's red cheek.

"Are you okay?" Yuki finally asked, not realizing that he was still holding Shuichi's hand. _Shit… why would she do that? What's wrong with her?_

"Umm… yeah." Shuichi sniffed again and wiped a tear away with his other hand. _Why does Yuki look so concerned? I thought he was mad at me… _

"Good." Yuki said abruptly and let go of Shuichi's hand. He stood up and began pacing again. _The hell is this! He's not some four-year-old that needs to be coddled… _Yuki took one look at Shuichi's sad face and felt his resolve crumble. _Then **why** do I feel the need to protect him?_

"Yuki?" Shuichi asked quietly and Yuki turned to him so quickly that the singer was stunned for a moment. "Will you watch Teen Titans with me?"

"Sure." Yuki walked out the room and Shuichi followed suit. The two sat down on the couch and Shuichi snatched the remote off the floor and pressed "play". Yuki wasn't even paying attention to the ridiculous cartoon. Shuichi, however, was completely mesmerized by it. He shouted and pumped his fist at certain points, shouting "Go Robin!!!" or laughing hysterically at some green kid.

Yuki found himself doing it again. Analyzing things he shouldn't. He took one look at the considerably violent cartoon and instantly knew why people grew up to be so crazy. _These kids watch cartoons and none of them are beneficial. Either it's too farfetched and nonrealistic, like a world where everyone wears the same damned outfit every day or where vampires ravage the land._ It didn't make any sense. What was it teaching kids anyway?

"_Oh, this bastard with four arms took my lunch so I'm going to construct a laser gun in my garage, fly back to school, and shoot his brains out. Then I'll get my tuna sandwich and my brownie back. Mom slaved over a hot oven to make that one brownie for me! She definitely didn't make anymore and if she did, they definitely aren't in a plastic container on the kitchen counter! So you see, I had to kill him! It was the only brownie-with rainbow sprinkles-that I had!" _

And then of course, those fake ass investigators would come into the crime scene, wearing makeup of course. The same people would be working extremely hard for the whole forty-forty five minutes all while looking beautiful. Put a little conflict, a little flirting, and some blood in there, too. They were all oh-so-smart that they managed to find and collect evidence, interrogate the suspects, and solve the case all by themselves.

And as the little laser boy is torn away from his parents, ostracized by his peers, and thrown in jail, he manages to turn his head around-slowly and dramatically, as it always was in these cases-and his eyes would look so innocent and pure, as if he had never committed a murder in the first place. His mother bursts into tears once again and his father holds the hysterical woman. (Not for long; they'd probably get divorced after their son was put away.)

The sad murderer mouths "I'm sorry" and tears run down his cheeks, but he can't wipe them away because his hands have been handcuffed behind his back. Finally, the obese guard with the stone face leads the little laser boy away. The mother looks up, only to see a flash of gaudy orange go where she cannot follow. The mother turns to the investigator, who of course is there to comfort her as well. "Oh… I wish I had never let him watch Evangelion. He loved those robots so much… but I see what they've done to my little boy now…"

What a world. Yuki shook his head, grumbling to himself. He had seen his theory manifest in Shuichi. The boy had aggressively reacted to one of Suguru's rude comments. The cartoon watching needed to end, at least while the boy was here. Well not end, because the brat would never give up his TV, but Yuki could lessen it… significantly.

"We're going out." Yuki stood up and turned the television off.

"Hey!!!! What about Aqualad?!? I wanna see what happens!" Shuichi protested as Yuki walked over to the doormat and slipped his shoes on. "Oh well… I guess I'll find out when we get back." The singer shrugged, wondering what Yuki had planned. It wasn't often they went places together, after all.

* * *

Shuichi was ecstatic. Not only had Yuki treated him to the most delicious ice cream in the history of frozen treats, but the unusually nice blonde was now taking the singer around Ginza, where Shuichi had probably maxed out Yuki's magic credit card. It wasn't as if the boy hadn't been to Ginza before… but the fact that he was there with Yuki made it special, memorable. 

Yuki stared at Shuichi from the corner of his eye. He smiled, satisfied with Shuichi's reaction to their… outing. The boy hadn't stopped smiling as soon as they had reached Ginza. He wanted to go into every store, see every street performer… and Yuki _literally_ had to drag Shuichi out of the Sony Building.

The writer was completely content with Shuichi using his credit card, because it helped lessen his guilt. And this way, he didn't have to apologize for his behavior… or Ayaka's. Speaking of, the wench had called his cell phone about a million times during their excursion.

Good thing his cell was on vibrate; Yuki didn't want to explain to Shuichi why he wasn't answering his cell. Not surprisingly, Shuichi had forgotten his cell inside the apartment. So for the duration of their trip, there hadn't been any irritating interruptions.

However, all good things must come to an end. Yuki had left the apartment on a mission: to get Shuichi's mind off cartoons. He would accomplish his mission. He had already formulated it during the drive to Ginza. It was time to implement.

"We're going in here." Yuki grabbed Shuichi by the arm and dragged him inside the gigantic Apple Store.

"REALLY?!?" Shuichi squealed happily, twisting his head all around. "Can we go up to the seventh floor? And explore EVERY level?"

"No." Yuki said flatly. "I'm buying one thing and then we're leaving. I have to finish that song by tonight."

"Aw…." Shuichi pouted, but in the end, decided not to get too upset. After all, Yuki had put up with the singer yanking him everywhere! He didn't even make a sarcastic comment about Shuichi eating ice cream during the winter. So Yuki deserved to be able to finish his work. Besides, it was starting to get colder anyway.

"Actually, it's probably better that you wait outside." Yuki pointed to the door. "Amuse yourself by staring at the giant, white apple that just mystically appeared on the outside of the building."

Mock glaring at Yuki, Shuichi exited the huge structure. He walked around in circles, trying to ease his boredom. Finally, Shuichi settled for twirling slowly around, looking up at the beautiful sky. The sun was beginning to set and all the skyscrapers around him prevented him from seeing it.

"Hey, wait… was that there before?" Shuichi cocked his head to one side, staring up at the giant, white apple that seemed to magically appear on the outside of the building. "YUKI'S A MAGICIAN?!?" He was so enthralled with Yuki's "powers" that he didn't notice everyone staring at him as they passed him by.

About five minutes later, Shuichi saw Yuki pass through the doors of the Apple Store. "YUUUUKI!!!!!!" Shuichi screamed happily and dashed over. "How'd you do it? The apple is sooo big! And how come there's a piece missing- did you bite a piece off? I don't think you were supposed to-"

"Here." Yuki handed him a black box with the magic, white apple on it.

"Huh?" Shuichi took the box from Yuki and opened it. A 30GB black iPod lay inside it. He stared dumbly at it for a few seconds. "For me?" It couldn't be. Why would Yuki buy an iPod for him? It must've cost well over 24,000 yen. Hiro had an iPod and he had complained about how expensive it was. And now… Yuki had just bought him one?!?

"Yes, it's for you." Yuki narrowed his eyes. "I bought the warrantee so if you happen to do something stupid… like drop it out the window or bury it in the snow… I won't have to bash your head in... that drastically."

"Yuki… this is the most expensive thing anyone's ever bought for me." Shuichi ran a finger over his new iPod. It was so shiny and smooth and black. He loved it already. The singer could've burst into tears right there on the street.

"How the hell do you know that?" Yuki snapped back, inwardly shocked by Shuichi's reaction. "The receipt isn't in the damn box."

"I don't get it… why did you buy this for me?" Shuichi smiled softly, closing the box carefully as if he was afraid of damaging its contents.

"You're not learning English in the hopes that you'll become a superhero armed with 'righteous fury' and a pair of frigging tights! Your first priority is learning to how to _sing_ in English. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they don't sing very often on that stupid cartoon.

"If you want to learn how to sing in English, then you need listen to English songs: Hence, the iPod." Yuki finished. "The sooner you master the language, the sooner we can finish the CD."

"Oh…" Shuichi's eyes widened. He understood Yuki's philosophy somewhat… but why didn't he purchase a CD player? Or buy a smaller iPod? Or even some English CDs? The singer hugged the box to his chest. "Thank you so much, Yuki. I really don't know-"

"In return, you can leave me the hell alone when we get back." Yuki began walking down the street. He didn't like how happy the boy's eyes were… or how soft his voice sounded or how inwardly pleased Yuki was with the execution of his idea.

Shuichi smiled at Yuki's back… and then scurried over to catch up with the blonde. _He really is special…_ Shuichi realized then, stealing a glance at the taller man. _I'm going to repay him. I have to do something nice for him. I have to!

* * *

_

Shuichi was currently wolfing down ramen noodles. The singer had followed Yuki's orders and left the writer alone as soon as they had entered the apartment. Hours had passed and Yuki still hadn't come out.

Shuichi was watching some boring cartoon on TV, but what he really wanted to do was put songs on his new iPod. There was only one computer in the apartment… and Yuki was using it. The boy was antsy… and becoming more bored with every second.

_What was the point of buying it for me if he won't get OFF the computer for thirty minutes so I can put songs on there?!?_ Shuichi screamed inside his head. _He's been in there for hours; he's missed dinner AND dessert… I've had it! I'm going to help him finish his song even if he kills me! I WANT THE COMP!_

Leaving his steaming ramen on the TV table, Shuichi leapt off the couch, dashed over to Yuki's study, and thrust the door open. Yuki turned to the boy in shock, his fingers frozen on the keyboard.

"Did you thrash the iPod already?" Yuki smirked, turning back to his work.

"When are you going to be done?" Shuichi demanded, putting his hands on his hips. "You've been working for hours. You didn't even cook dinner!"

"Excuse me?" The blonde turned to Shuichi, glaring daggers at the boy. Shuichi refused to back down, which surprised Yuki. "If I may recall, we're not married, _dear_, nor am I babysitting you. Therefore, I am not obliged to entertain you all hours of the day."

Shuichi blushed at the "married" part and desperately hoped that Yuki didn't catch it. (In truth, Yuki wanted to bang his head on the keyboard for saying the M-word.) "Look, whether you like it or not, I'm going to help you." Shuichi strolled over to Yuki, who was still seated at his desk.

_What has gotten into him?_ Yuki was trying to stay calm. In fact, he was partially freaked out by Shuichi's assertiveness. It was unlike the boy; it was eerie. The next thing Shuichi did nearly gave Yuki a heart attack: the singer sat right down on Yuki's lap. Yuki's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

"Get off!" Yuki snapped, smacking the boy in the back of the head.

"No!" Shuichi twisted his head around and stuck his tongue out at Yuki. "I'm going to help you finish the song so I can put _MY_ songs on my iPod."

"Get your own chair." Yuki growled out, pointing towards the door. The boy was seriously beginning to infuriate him. Who did he think he was?

"If I do, you'll just lock the door on me." Shuichi cackled out loud. "Nope, I have the best seat in the world!" Yuki blanched at this, blood rapidly rushing from his head. His entire body was going insane. "Now let's see…"

Shuichi leaned forward so that he could read the lyrics Yuki had been typing. He silently read them over and over again. It seemed as though Yuki had finished half the song. Shuichi thought about the song and he thought about it hard. Finally, he began to softly sing Yuki's unfinished work:

**"Sono aoku kooru hitomi  
Kono mune ni dakishimetai  
Nakushita kono yuuki wo  
Omoidashite once again**

**Tooi senaka oikaketa  
Tsukikage ni kakureru  
Ikari ienu kanashimi  
Hitori-jime suru no**

**Kurai mori samayou  
Murasaki no kizuato  
Yoru ni matataku ryuusei  
Mitsumete iru Ice Blue Eyes**

**Sono aoku kooru hitomi  
Kono mune ni dakishimetai  
Nakushita kono yuuki wo  
Omoidashite once again**

**Sono kizu ni itami taezu  
Oogoe de naite ii yo  
Atataka na namida wa  
Koori tokasu harvest rain**

**Watashi matte 'ru..."**

Shuichi wordlessly got off Yuki's lap. "It's a beautiful song. I love it… I hope you finish it soon." He turned around to leave before Yuki started yelling at him and throwing things… but the blonde's response amazed him:

"Go sit on the couch." Yuki found himself saying. _Why am I always mesmerized by his voice? Why… why am I doing this? _But miraculously enough, Yuki had been inspired by hearing Shuichi sing. "And don't say a word."

Shuichi, smiling brightly, obeyed the writer. As soon as Shuichi's legs touched the sofa Yuki began typing furiously at the keyboard. _I'm motivation! Yay!_ Shuichi shouted in his head. It hadn't been easy, standing up to Yuki. But in the end, it was worth it. Now Yuki could finish his song. And then Shuichi could finally use his iPod. And then everything would be right with the world.

Shuichi didn't realize he was beginning to doze off until Yuki called out "brat". The boy shook his head and scampered over to Yuki and his laptop. "Oooooooooh!! You finished it!" Shuichi exclaimed happily. "Yay, I can sing the whole thing now!"

"Try translating it into English." Yuki got up from his seat… before Shuichi got any ideas. "Turn it off when you're done."

"Okay!" Shuichi plopped down onto the chair and spun around in it a few times. "Good night Yuki!!!" The blonde wordlessly left the room. Shuichi turned to the bright screen and read the completed song. He couldn't help it; he had to sing it first. He felt as if the song belonged to both Yuki and him. That made it special:

**"Sono aoku kooru hitomi  
Kono mune ni dakishimetai  
Nakushita kono yuuki wo  
Omoidashite once again**

**Tooi senaka oikaketa  
Tsukikage ni kakureru  
Ikari ienu kanashimi  
Hitori-jime suru no**

**Kurai mori samayou  
Murasaki no kizuato  
Yoru ni matataku ryuusei  
Mitsumete iru Ice Blue Eyes**

**Sono aoku kooru hitomi  
Kono mune ni dakishimetai  
Nakushita kono yuuki wo  
Omoidashite once again**

**Sono kizu ni itami taezu  
Oogoe de naite ii yo  
Atataka na namida wa  
Koori tokasu harvest rain**

**Watashi matte 'ru...**

**Tsuyosa dake motometeta  
Hito kogasu tsumetasa  
Hokori sute nikushimi de  
Kono toki tomeru no**

**Ashita negau tatakai  
Yume mamoru senshi yo  
Yami ni nigekomu kokoro  
Tsuremodoshite don't look back**

**Sono kodoku ikari sakebi  
Watashi ni mo kanjisasete  
Hontou no kono yuuki wo  
Torimodoshite once again**

**Sono kooru hitomi tokashi  
Kono mune de namida naguite  
Atataka na namida wa  
Koori tokasu harvest rain**

**Watashi matte 'ru...  
Watashi matte 'ru..."**

Shuichi cocked his head to one side. Well, it wasn't exactly Christmassy, but Tohma would _never_ reject anything Yuki wrote. "I _do_ love it…" Shuichi murmured, smiling to himself. He then went to get his iPod from the living room.

* * *

Yuki heard Shuichi singing from his bedroom and sighed. He was lying on his back, staring up at his dark ceiling. He was becoming attracted to Shuichi and he knew it. From day one, the boy had captivated him. Day two, Shuichi had read three of his bestsellers and proclaimed that he didn't understand _any_ of them. Day three… Yuki was starting to scare himself. 

_What am I supposed to do? _Yuki wanted to tear his hair out. For one thing, he was engaged to Ayaka, who probably wanted to kill him right now. He was surprised his Father or Mika hadn't called him yet. He could just hear the endless whining in his ears. And finally… the only male Yuki had ever been attracted to had betrayed him, in one of the worst ways possible. So how could he have been so stupid as to… NO! It hadn't happened yet. Yuki could prevent it.

But how? The boy lived in his apartment. Yuki shook his head and decided to put all these ridiculous ideas out of his mind. Enough was enough.

* * *

Ryuichi was annoyed. In fact, he was more than annoyed, he was downright pissed. It was the day of his and Shuichi's duet… and Shuichi had been blabbing about Yuki nonstop. From the moment Shuichi had stepped into the limo, Yuki's name was on his lips. On and on and on about how nice he was or how mean he was or how cool he was or how smart he looked with his glasses on… 

Hiro and Suguru looked at each other and sighed. Shuichi was happy, Ryuichi was pissed, Sakano had passed out hours ago… it was all too much. Hiro was beginning to suspect that Shuichi had feelings for Yuki. Suguru refused to look at the singer, since he was still miffed about his injured nose.

Ryuichi was standing outside the large curtain that concealed the back of the stage. He and Shuichi would be going on stage in a few minutes. (The hyper boy was currently prancing around him, too excited to stay still.) He had to regain his composure. He couldn't allow his utter hatred of Yuki hinder his performance.

"You're on! Get out there!" K came out of nowhere and smacked Hiro in the back of the head with his shotgun. Shuichi began jumping up and down, grabbing onto Ryuichi's shoulder in anticipation.

"I'm going." Hiro rolled his eyes and stepped out from the curtain. He strung a few chords and the crowd outside screamed in response. "BAD LUCK is back!!!"

"Your keyboard is ready. Go get 'em!" K wove his gun in the air. Suguru calmly stepped out and the crowd screeched. A small, confident smile was on the keyboardist's face.

Suguru strolled out to his keyboard and began playing a sweet, soft melody. "Are you guys ready?!?" More screaming was heard. Suguru grinned, happy to have the spotlight, although it wouldn't last for very long.

"Oooh, Sakuma-san, I can't wait…" Shuichi began squirming in agitation. "I have the song completely memorized… this is my first time singing a song entirely in English. But I know I can do it! It's a perfect song, it's a wonderful song… you know, Yuki wrote this one."

"I know." Ryuichi said through gritted teeth. _Again with that stupid man…_ K noticed the snappish tone in Ryuichi's voice and frowned curiously.

_Why is it… that he can call Eiri by his first name… but not me?_ Ryuichi wanted to punch something. He wanted to prove to Eiri that Shuichi was his. The boy belonged to him; he just didn't know it yet. An idea sparked into his brain and he smirked mischievously.

A man wearing an earpiece scurried over carrying two odd-looking devices. They looked like black headphones, except they weren't, because one end was curved so that the microphone on the end was near the mouth and the other end cut off around the top of the neck. Nevertheless, they were made to fit on anyone's head, so maybe they were headphones.

"What kind of headphones are these?" Shuichi frowned hesitantly.

"They're not headphones." Ryuichi took his pair from the man and put them on his head. "You're big time now, Shuichi. You don't need to hold a microphone." Shuichi put his "headphones" on his head, tapping the microphone with his finger.

"You're on. Get out there!!!" K practically shoved Shuichi out onto the stage. Grinning widely, Shuichi began walking slowly to the middle of the stage. Hiro and Suguru looked at each other excitedly. Shuichi started to sing:

**"Live in my house  
I'll be your shelter  
Just pay me back  
with on thousand kisses  
Be my lover  
and I'll cover you…"**

Ryuichi casually walked out singing. Screams rang out through the entire stadium. He took his place next to Shuichi. The experienced singer put his arm around Shuichi's shoulders. They had to get the song's point across, didn't they?

"_Open your door  
I'll be your tenant  
Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet  
But sweet kisses I've got to spare  
I'll be there and I'll cover you…"_

Ryuichi and Shuichi slowly turned to each other. Shuichi was so happy to be singing next to his idol. It was like a dream come true. Everything was going perfectly… and he hadn't messed a word up yet!!!!

"**_I think they meant it  
When they said you can't buy love  
Now I know you can rent it  
A new lease you are my love  
on life… Be my life! _**

Just slip me on  
I'll be your blanket  
Wherever, whatever  
I'll be your coat…"

Ryuichi smirked slightly, never letting his deep, blue eyes leave Shuichi's innocent ones. Shuichi grinned and scampered away from Ryuichi, as if he was playing hard to get. Hiro saw this and shook his head. The audience loved it.

**"You'll be my king  
and I'll be your castle…"**

Suguru discerned the positive feedback from the crowd. He was actually impressed with the way Shuichi had mastered the song, considering it was in English. Despite all of the keyboardist's criticism, he himself did not know English. The boy had a newfound respect for Shuichi.

"_No, you'll be my queen  
And I'll be your moat."_

Ryuichi followed Shuichi and tugged him by the arm, as if telling him: Don't run away. Shuichi smiled up at him and they began singing together once again:

"**_I think they meant it  
When they said you can't buy love  
Now I know you can rent it  
A new lease you are my love  
on life… All my life! _**

I've longed to discover  
**_Something as true as this is…"_**

_I've got him now… he's so into the song. He's lost in it._ Ryuichi wrapped an arm around the boy's waist, pulling him even closer. He saw Shuichi's slightly surprised reaction, but the younger singer hid it quickly.

_What is Sakuma-san doing?_ Shuichi inwardly frowned. The two vocalists became singing back and forth, resonating off each other's voices:

"_So, with a thousand sweet kisses_  
**(if you're cold and you're lonely)  
**_I'll cover you  
With a thousand sweet kisses_  
**(you've got one nickel only)**  
_I'll cover you_  
**With a thousand sweet kisses  
**_(When you're worn out and tired)_  
**I'll cover you  
With a thousand sweet kisses**  
_(When you're heart has expired)_  
**I'll cover you…"**

Shuichi slung an arm around Ryuichi's waist, just for the heck of it. He wanted everyone to see the emotion he was feeling, he wanted the crowd to understand. Oddly enough, the entire song made him think about Yuki. Not just because the blonde had written it, but because he felt as if Yuki had written it for him. As if the song was a message from Yuki to Shuichi. But the pink-haired boy chased these thoughts out of his mind. He was being ridiculous.

"**_Oh, lover  
I'll cover you  
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Oh, lover  
I'll cover you…"_**

Shuichi and Ryuichi turned to each other, both lost in their passionate thoughts. Ryuichi took the offensive and sealed the song with a tender kiss on Shuichi's lips. A loud, wild scream ran throughout the stage. A couple girls fainted. Ryuichi stepped away from Shuichi, staring down at the younger singer intently. Shuichi was in shock and touched a finger to his lips, trying to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

_What the hell just happened?_ Hiro's brained screamed at him. Everything was so loud and out of control. The crowd was shrieking for more, Shuichi looked like he was in catatonic shock, and Ryuichi was practically staring the boy down.

"Shindou-san!" Suguru called out sharply, sensing the impending chaos around him and refusing to let it get to him. The boy in question jumped, freed from his trance. "We're done. Let's go backstage." And with that, Suguru threw his mightiest glare at Ryuichi, turned on his heel, and stalked off the stage.

_Ouch…_ Hiro raised an eyebrow. _If Suguru is pissed about this… how angry is Tohma going to be? _Shuichi nearly dove off into the curtains, not before bowing and shouting a "Thank You!" to the audience.

The redheaded guitarist shook his head at Ryuichi and slowly walked off, carrying his trusty instrument with him. Ryuichi followed the musician off stage. _Things are getting a little too weird these days…_ Hiro inwardly sighed as he saw K fire his gun into the air to forcefully pacify Sakano's panicked screams. _And when did Sakano wake up?_

* * *

Shuichi opened the door to Yuki's apartment. It was oddly quiet and this unnerved the boy. "Tadaima…" Shuichi whispered to the air as he took his shoes off. Sure, tonight's performance had been a success… but… He was so confused. 

Ryuichi hadn't looked at him since the kiss and the boy was so lost and he didn't know why Ryuichi had kissed him and he didn't even want to be kissed, but Ryuichi was his idol and he would never want to hurt the man's feelings. It was all too much for Shuichi. He slunk to the floor on his knees and started crying.

_And he lied about it! Ryuichi told K the only reasoned he kissed me was to make the performance more believable. He was doing it for show only. I know he was lying… I could see how dark his eyes looked. And how tender they looked after he… No, I know he meant it… Hiro and Suguru saw right through him, too._

"What the hell-" Yuki walked into the living room to yell at Shuichi for not closing the door and froze mid-sentence. Seeing Shuichi sobbing his heart out on the floor awakened old feelings he hadn't felt in a long time. Feelings he didn't want to feel. Nevertheless, he knew Shuichi needed him. "What's wrong now?" _Did he choke on stage or something?_

Shuichi sniffled and looked up at Yuki. The blonde's hazel golden eyes gazed down at him. Shuichi wiped away his tears and looked at the floor. He couldn't face Yuki now. He felt… he felt as if he had done something wrong. _That's ridiculous…_

"Get up." Yuki took Shuichi by the arm and tugged the boy to his feet. "Since you've obviously lost your ability to speak, we're going to play a little game. Just nod or shake your head." Yuki sat down on the couch and Shuichi did the same. "Did you make it to the concert?" Nod. "Did you perform 'I'll Cover You'?"

Shuichi nodded again. "Did you mess up on an English word?" Shake. "Did you stumble on stage?" Shake. "Did Suguru make you pay for his hospital bill?" Shuichi shook his head, giving the writer a confused look. "Did you have a fight with Hiro?" Shake. "Did Tohma move our deadline up?" And yet, another shake.

_This is going nowhere…_ Yuki was starting to lose the little patience he had. _What the hell could've upset him so much?_ The blonde's eyes widened. _This just goes to show how much I understand what pays my damn bills…_

"Someone made a romantic advance towards you and you're uneasy about it." Yuki stated flatly. _It figures… as cute as he is, he's bound to be violated by someone. Wait a minute, what am I saying? He's not cute! NOT CUTE!_

"Yeah!" Shuichi shouted out in shock. _He really **is** a magician…_ The boy gazed at Yuki with wonder. "So… what am I supposed do to?"

"Who was it?" Yuki smirked. "Some crazed fan of yours?" _Who would be dumb enough to kiss him?_

"Ryuichi." Shuichi uttered silently, staring down at his lap. He didn't see Yuki's shocked reaction. "Yuki, I…"

"Do you love him?" Yuki spat out, jealousy surging through him. He couldn't explain it, but at that moment, Shuichi belonged to him. How dare Ryuichi kiss _his_ brat?

Shuichi flinched at the tone of Yuki's voice. _I knew it… I knew he'd be mad…_ "I'm sorry…" The singer whispered pitifully. "I… I don't know. I don't think I love him…" Yuki almost smacked himself in the head. What was he doing?

_The brat is **NOT** mine. He can kiss whoever he wants to._ Yuki scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. _But why does that bother me so much?_

"Yuki…" Shuichi finally looked up into Yuki's cold eyes, his cold eyes that captivated the singer's very soul. "Kiss me." _I did NOT just say that… Yuki's going to kick me out of his apartment, Tohma is going to hang me from Tokyo Tower…_

Shuichi's mental tirade was broken off by Yuki's lips gently touching his own. Shuichi happily wrapped his arms around the writer's neck. Yuki slowly broke the kiss, gazing down at Shuichi. The boy moved so that he was sitting in the blonde's lap. The two stayed oddly silent, the same question probing their minds: "What now?"

* * *

**And yet, another chapter finished. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	3. Depressingly Expressive

**Lol wow I haven't updated this story in ages. I'm really sorry, forgive me!! If you find any mistakes please let me know! Enjoy! Happy New Year!! **

**Many thanks to: foxeran, Michaela, sayuri-girl, Cheska, Tsuki Aquarius Hanju, LoveHiei-Rine, Jersey Thursday, Vindalootoo, Estelle Stafford, XxTypoMasterxX, razorXroses, Yuki-senpai, Prieel, Tia just is, anita2693, Em-chan 01, tati1, kovu, and Amy for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Linkin Park song used in this chapter. ****Lyrics in bold (Shuichi)** **& _Lyrics in_ _Italics (Suguru)_**

**(Btw lol this _is_ an AU, so if I want to make "Yuki" Uesugi Eiri's first name, I think I have the right to do so. It's an odd habit of mine, but if it bothers anyone, I apologize.) **

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* * *

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**Depressingly Expressive**

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* * *

**

Shuichi sat on Yuki's bed, staring out the open window on his left with a sad expression on his face. Life was horrible. Well at least, it had been for the past few days. Two weeks had passed since Yuki and Shuichi first met. It had been a couple days since… the kiss. Not Ryuichi's… that was meaningless compared to the one he had shared with Yuki.

The kiss… the kiss was the reason why Yuki and Shuichi weren't talking right now. It was as if every bit of happiness and light had been sucked out of Shuichi's life. Get up, eat, work, come back, relax, eat, shower, sleep, and repeat. Yuki had been avoiding him… and Shuichi was avoiding the blonde as well.

And of course, Tohma could practically smell the tension between Shuichi and Yuki. The singer swore that Tohma was using it to his advantage. The entire week had been full of publicity outings: filming a commercial for the CD, going onto talk shows for the CD, talking to radio hosts about the CD… EVERYTHING had been about the stupid CD and Shuichi didn't even care about it anymore. All he cared about was Yuki.

Unfortunately, due to Tohma's tightly regulated schedule, Shuichi spent most of his time at work. He barely had time to himself and even when he did… Yuki was never anywhere to be found, despite the fact that Shuichi was _still_ living in the blonde's apartment. He was always working in his stupid study.

The only reason why Shuichi was sitting on Yuki's bed was because it was the closest he could ever get to the blonde without the writer knowing it. Yuki was currently out buying groceries. He actually had the decency to leave Shuichi a cursory note on the kitchen counter.

_I hate my life…_ Shuichi lied down on Yuki's bed, hugging the pillow that contained Yuki's scent to his chest, facing the window. Tears fell from his eyes to the pillow, staining it. _Why do these things always happen to me?_

Shuichi knew he had been acting differently at work. His enthusiasm, his hyper ways… all gone… there was no point in caring.

Hiro, Suguru, and K had all noticed this change in him. Shuichi smiled bitterly, thinking of how Suguru began holding his rude comments back, how Hiro had been patting him too many times on the back lately, and how K only threatened to shoot him if Shuichi began looking too depressed to be seen on TV. Or too sad to be heard by the general public.

_I have all this sadness inside me…_ Shuichi rolled over so that he was on his back. _And they all just want me to get over it, to continue smiling like I always have. To them, I'm just some immature boy with a whole lot of talent. 'Here, give the baby some pocky! Maybe he'll stop being sad!' They all think I'm so whimsical, like I don't have real feelings at all, like nothing ever bothers me._

Well, okay, he was being irrational. Suguru only called him immature when he was pissed… which of course hadn't happened lately, because everyone was playing "Be-Extra-Nice-To-Shuichi-So-He'll-Be-Happy-Again-And-Pay-My-Bills"!

Shuichi groaned out loud. He wanted to rip his hair out. "Maybe… I just need some rest. I'll shut my eyes for a minute, channel all of my negative energy out into the air, and wake up… completely restored." The singer smiled sadly to himself, lying on his side once more. He would just shut his eyes for a minute…

* * *

After fumbling with his keys for a full ten seconds, Yuki managed to open the door to his apartment, although his hands were full of bags. He trudged over to the kitchen and immediately plopped the bags down on top of the counter. The writer reached over to open the fridge… and that was when he noticed it. Silence. 

Frowning slightly, Yuki left the groceries in the kitchen and went back into the living room. He saw the boy's shoes at the door, so he was obviously here. Yuki went to the bathroom door and saw that the light wasn't on. He then entered his study… but nothing. Finally, Yuki ran into his bedroom, thinking that if Shuichi wasn't there, he was missing. But he was far from missing…

Yuki halted in his tracks as he saw Shuichi lying on his bed, fast asleep. Shuichi had one pillow clutched to his chest and he was curled up into a ball. The sun was just beginning to set; why was the boy sleeping already? Was he sick? Yuki walked over to the side of the bed and leaned over, studying the vocalist.

Shuichi seemed to be unhappily struggling with something. His face was scrunched up and he was mumbling to himself. Yuki felt the boy's forehead and to his relief, the boy didn't have a fever.

Yuki knew, he knew that since the kiss he had been avoiding Shuichi. He knew that it was stupid, that it had been affecting both of them… but what could he do? So Yuki went on a few dates with Ayaka and apologized and now the brunette was swooning over him just like before. It didn't explain why he still felt empty on the inside, emptier than he had ever felt in his life.

He was always willing to settle for Ayaka. It was kind of like choosing a goldfish or a turtle for a pet. They were reliable, sort of boring in the blonde's opinion, but they hardly ever gave you trouble. Yuki could have seen himself living with Ayaka for a long time. He could've gotten used to it. Ayaka was bearable. She was… nice-looking. It would make his father happy if Yuki stayed with her.

However… what person in their right mind would pick a goldfish over a puppy… if given the choice? A puppy was adorable, lively, and unpredictable. A puppy loved its owner unconditionally, was optimistic, and exciting. There was never a dull moment with a puppy. And it wasn't like Yuki was allergic to dogs…

_This isn't making any sense at all…_ Yuki scowled to himself. _What kind of ridiculous analogy did my psychotic brain come up with?_ Yuki's life had changed significantly from the day he met Shuichi and in a good way.

The day Yuki met Ayaka… nothing happened. They didn't click. There weren't any alarms going off in his head, no exhilaration… Ayaka was just _there_ one day. And Yuki adjusted quickly, actually accommodating Ayaka into his life hadn't been hard at all; just a few minor changes in his schedule every here and there.

Conversely, Yuki's entire world had been turned upside down after meeting Shuichi. The two had met by chance, not on purpose. They happened to be in the same room at the same time. Shuichi's sister happened to be a fan of his. (Well, in truth, the latter wasn't that much of a surprise…)

But still, to be mere acquaintances in one day and living in the same residence the next? What were the chances? What the hell were the chances of that happening? Yuki sat down at the edge of the bed and held his head in his hands.

And it certainly wasn't easy living with Shuichi. The boy's idiosyncratic mannerisms made Yuki want to throw the boy out the window at times. Everything about the singer was an enigma: his eating habits, his loud cheering, his screaming, his overdramatic reactions, his never-ending hopefulness, and his ability to empathize with others on a surprisingly mature level… especially Yuki himself. Of course, these things were only the tip of the iceberg.

_So… what do I do?_ Yuki thought carefully. _It's obvious that I'd be better off with Ayaka. I'd have a simple, stable life. No trouble, no fights… But it'd be too dull._ Yuki couldn't fool himself anymore. _I don't want… to live with a goldfish for the rest of my life. Why the hell should I settle for something I don't want?_

Yuki stood up and left the bedroom. He had groceries to unpack. _I need to talk to him soon._ The writer hiked back to the kitchen and opened the fridge once again, grumbling to himself.

* * *

Shuichi was bored at work… again. It was all so pointless. "Come on, Shindou-san!" Suguru had called out exasperatedly for the fifth time. 

"I hate this song." Shuichi said simply into the microphone, daring K with his vacant eyes to pull a gun on him. "I'm taking a break."

"Another one?!?" Suguru shrieked out loud. "We _HAVE_ to finish this song if we want to be on schedule! I can't believe you're being this selfish! Whatever is bothering you is _NOT_ worth disappointing the rest of us and our fans!"

Shuichi turned his cold eyes onto Suguru and took his headphones off. He let them drop to the floor with a loud clatter. The singer just didn't care anymore. "How could I possibly expect you to understand?" Shuichi said quietly as he walked towards the keyboardist. "Ever since I met you, you've done nothing but criticize me. My misery must be a field day for you, because it gives you a chance to make me feel worse about myself than already do.

"Did you ever try and get to know me? Did you ever even try to rid yourself of your judgmental attitude? No, you never did." Shuichi was directly in front of Suguru. "You just try to be like your cousin. You think that if you act just like him, you'll become successful. You'll be respected. But there's one thing you forgot.

"He never treated Ryuichi and Noriko the way you treat me. He treated them with respect because they were a family. That is why they were so successful, because there was an unexplainable bond between them. Yes, there were personality clashes. Yes, they might have hurt each other. But at the end of the day, they stuck together. Even now, despite all the years that have passed by and the changes they all went through… that bond is still there.

"You want to know what he has that you don't have. You want to know what makes him different than you, better than you. Well here it is: Tohma has the ability to push his personal opinions aside for the greater good. He may not agree, his views maybe be different, but Tohma is able to see the big picture. There may have been times when Tohma considered kicking Ryuichi out of the band. But did he?

"No, because Tohma knew that Ryuichi was the only one. Ryuichi was had that spark, the charisma… it drew fans in and held them. So Tohma tolerated Ryuichi's antics and in time, they've become as close as brothers. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to push your haughty attitude aside? Or are you going to put up a wall of arrogance between us? Because believe me, you will destroy our band if you do not change.

"You call me selfish, when in reality; you are the most selfish one of all." Shuichi finished bluntly, his purple eyes never leaving Suguru during his entire speech. And with that, the singer turned around and left the room, leaving a shocked threesome behind.

Shuichi walked down the halls of N-G Studios, not bothering to wave or smile or grant anyone the pleasure of ridiculous, small talk. He just wasn't in the mood, especially today. _I hate perfectionists…_ The dejected singer thought to himself as he entered the elevator and pressed the "down" button. _I think I'll go to the cafeteria._ And the lead singer of Bad Luck did just that.

* * *

Hours later, Shuichi was still in the cafeteria. The sun had already set. The majority of people had left the studio already. As a matter of fact, he was the only one left in the cafeteria. He sat there by himself at the long table, a cup of cold ramen noodles and an open box of strawberry pocky resting before him. 

_Look what he's done to me… I can't even eat anymore._ Shuichi looked down at his untouched food in disgust. _In a way, Suguru is right. I can't let him keep eating away at me… And I know Sakuma-san likes me._ Shuichi shook his head, chasing his dangerous thoughts away. _No, I could never do that. I don't feel that way about him and I could never take advantage of him like that._

Shuichi smiled to himself, thinking back to when he blew up at Suguru. _I still can't believe I did that… He's never going to speak to me again. I struck a chord; I could see it on his face. Oh well… it's time for him to grow up anyways. He can dish it out, but he can't take it… _The singer snorted to himself bitterly. _Analysts hate to be analyzed. Ironic, isn't it?

* * *

_

"So tell me, why are you so stressed today?" Yuki's psychiatrist, a rather intelligent woman named Sora, chuckled, making Yuki grip the phone tightly. "And why are you calling me at this time? I was about to heat up some dinner."

"It's your job to listen to me, isn't it? So what does it matter what time I call you?" Yuki snapped out, taking a seat on his couch. The blank TV broadcasted his reflection. He looked disheveled and just plain… out of it, whatever _it_ was.

"Yes, it is my job. You're right." Sora said apologetically. "Please continue."

"My sister is a neurotic mess and she's driving me insane. She goes through all these fads… and this time she decided to become familiarized with American culture… so my idiot brother suggested a documentary some American tourist told him about one day.

"Of all American movies Mika had to watch… why Super Size Me?!? Now all she does is worry about her eating habits… and everyone else's. It's ridiculous.

'_Did you eat all your vegetables today?!? And tell Shuichi to stop eating so much junk food!!! His arteries must be so clogged by now, the poor boy… I would come over and cook for the both of you, a lovely home-cooked meal, not loaded up with preservatives and fat and sugar and salt… but Father wants me to visit. So I e-mailed you the food pyramid! Follow it diligently… like you're supposed follow the Ten Commandments! Well, maybe that was a bad example-'_

'_I'M NOT AMERICAN! I DON'T CARE!'_

"I managed to get my point across using six words; meanwhile she was trying to lecture me with about a thousand! She probably wrote all those words down on a piece of paper and read them out loud! Even after I hung up on her, she called back FOUR times… and finally left a message the fourth time.

"Do you know WHAT the message was about? Do you?!? It was about how McDonald's makes their chicken nuggets… and how one of the founders of Baskin Robbins died!" Yuki finished, breathing heavily into the phone.

"I see… so your sister is disturbing you… with her newfound health awareness." Sora replied seriously, able to take in everything Yuki was saying. "I don't know what's really bothering you, but you're purposely using your sister's rants as a distraction. If her words really rattled you, you never would have listened to her on the phone for so long. You also wouldn't have listened to her voicemail."

Sora chose her next words very carefully: "If my theory is correct, if something or someone is messing up your stable routine, I suggest you get rid of it. You've been doing fine for a while, Yuki, especially after Shindou-san moved into your apartment. I must say, when I first I found out another man was moving in with you, I was shocked beyond belief, but you adjusted admirably. He seems to have made a lasting impression on you. Talk to him about what's bothering you; I'm sure he'd love to listen to you."

Yuki shuddered with anger for a moment. How stupid was the woman?!? As if he had actually gotten better since the brat had moved in… What the hell did she know?!? And if she was smart- she'd realize that Shuichi WAS the source of his turmoil. The blonde took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

"Fine then… I'll tell _him_ what's wrong with me." Yuki spat out. "Because I'm sure he'd love to switch career paths and take on the job that you seem to be doing so well!" The blonde hung up the phone instantly after at.

Sora sighed and closed her phone. "Shindou-san… I hope you realize how much you've turned his world upside-down. You've made him the happiest he's been in a long time…" The psychiatrist shook her head. "But you have the power to steal that happiness back from him." _The problem is… the boy doesn't know how much power he has over Yuki… and I'm sure Yuki is planning on keeping it that way.

* * *

_

Shuichi stared at the opened napkin in front of him with awe. Never in his life had he written a song so fast. And it was in English. And it was amazing. It voiced all of his feelings, it conveyed his loneliness and anger and pain. It was then, at that moment, that Shuichi knew he was born to be a singer. It was the only way he could express himself.

Shuichi carefully folded the napkin and put it into his pocket. He threw out his uneaten food. After deciding there was nothing else for him to do, he headed back to the recording room. It was a long, dark, quiet walk through N-G Studios because most of the lights had been turned off and most of the employees were gone.

Shuichi looked out the window on his way and saw that Hiro's motorcycle wasn't in the parking lot anymore. _That means I'll have to find my own way back…_ The singer almost burst into tears. _Back where… I can't call it "home". It's just some fancy apartment I'm living in. I'm not needed there; I'm not loved there. I don't belong there._

This was exactly why that song was perfect. By writing all of his emotions down on paper, the unhappy teen had taken the first step to admitting there was a problem. It was never good to keep emotions bottled up inside; they always needed to be expressed. He couldn't keep pasting a fake smile on his face when he felt horrible on the inside.

The media was partially to blame for that; they lived to see him cry and that was why he was cautioned against becoming too emotional in public. However, in being taught to smile when he felt crummy, to laugh when he wanted to break down and cry… it had messed him up.

_Sure, if Suguru insults me or if my iPod is dysfunctional… I can express my anger. But when more important things happen, when bad things happen, when I feel like I'm splitting in two and my world is ending… I hide it. I can't let anyone see. And I can't continue on this way anymore. It's not right._

Shuichi flung the door to the recording room open and fumbled about for the light switch. What he saw shocked him to much he let out a squeak: Suguru was sitting right in the middle of the floor, looking more serious than ever.

"What are you doing here?" Shuichi asked warily, looking around the room. Suguru was the only one inside. "Why were you sitting alone in the dark?"

"I was thinking about what you said." Suguru stood up, running his fingers through his short, green hair. "And I realized that you were right."

"Huh?" Shuichi's jaw dropped and he shook his head. "Okay, hold up a second. Can we sit down before I pass out?"

Throwing the vocalist a wry smile, Suguru complied and took a seat on the cold, hard tiles. Shuichi followed suit, making sure to sit facing the keyboardist. "I grew up listening to everyone praise Tohma's name. He was the acknowledged one in our family. I realized how important he was… at a young age. No matter what I did, it was never good enough. I never measured up to his greatness.

"It was so hard growing up. He was the prodigy, the family's pride and joy… and while loathing him, I looked up to him, too. I wanted to be just like him so that my family would appreciate me, too. I wanted to play just like him. So I'd practice for hours and hours. I just wanted to be great. I wanted to be noticed.

"But in the end, nothing I did was ever good enough. Even now… we've made so much money, sold so many albums, performed in front of so many fans… Tohma is still ahead of me. I'm still following in his footsteps… he owns us. He controls everything. I've never surpassed him and I'm beginning to realize that I never will. I just wish my family could appreciate who I am and what I've done.

"And I know I've been horrible to you… and for that, I'm sorry. I don't know what you're going through, but I'm sorry I wasn't more sympathetic." Suguru smiled sadly, a trace of vulnerability finally appearing on his face. "Life sucks, doesn't it?"

_I never thought about it that way. I never understood him_. "So that's why you're a workaholic." Shuichi snorted, shaking his head. "Look, Suguru, Bad Luck will pave its own path, separate from Nittle Grasper. We can be better, but in order to do that… we can't keep comparing ourselves to them. We can't model ourselves after them. It's not fair to the band, to our fans. They want _us_, not them."

"Yeah… that's true." Suguru nodded his head. The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. "So what should we do now?"

"Ooh yeah, I almost forgot!" Shuichi took the napkin out of his pocket. "Lookit, it's my new song!"

"Wow…" Suguru blinked, reading over the lyrics again and again. "This is powerful. I really like it. I can almost hear the melody in my head."

"Can you?" Shuichi asked hopefully, a mischievous glint in his purple eyes.

"What's with that look?" Suguru frowned, already guessing what Shuichi was about to say. "No, Shuichi, come on-"

"Why don't we pull our first all-nighter?" Shuichi grinned widely. "I've got no reason to go back- WAIT A MINUTE! You called me Shuichi!!!" Suguru blushed and refused to respond. "Haha… I never thought this day would come. C'mon, Suguru, say it again!"

"No!" Suguru snapped out, his cheeks still red. "What were you saying?"

"Well… I was thinking that we could record this song tonight; unless… you've got some prior commitment." Shuichi smirked at Suguru.

"That's ridiculous! The building isn't open all night. People will come looking for us." Suguru rolled his eyes. "That's a dumb idea."

"Are you always going to do what Seguchi-SAMA says?" Shuichi teased. "We've got a great song here and I'm in the mood to work-for once. Let's just do this and get it over with. We'll feel so much better afterwards."

"What about-" Suguru protested feebly.

"Don't worry about Hiro! This is our special song!" Shuichi pouted. "This song symbolizes our… newfound friendship!!!!!!"

"The foundation of our friendship is based on a depressing song? What a wondrous beginning." Suguru replied sarcastically.

"Not the lyrics… the fact that we pulled an all-nighter and finished the song together! Our first project completed, without any big disagreements or fights-"

"-Or trips to the hospital." Suguru uttered darkly.

"Exactly… hey wait a second!" Shuichi shook his head. "Oh come on, the past is in the past. We're building our future together, as comrades! This song is amazing and you know it! In the spirit of our-"

"Shut up and start singing!" Suguru stood up, glaring at Shuichi.

* * *

After five long hours, the symbol of their friendship was finally done. "I can't believe I sung that song twenty times…" Shuichi was lying on the couch in the lounge that was down the hall. They had left the dreaded room as soon as the song was finished and recorded. 

"I counted thirty-five…" Suguru was on the opposite side of the couch.

"I hate that song."

"Understandable."

"How did you write the composition for the song so quickly?"

"I don't know… it just came to me."

"Well, it was good. And you know, your voice isn't that bad. Ever consider being my backup singer?"

"Shut it. I'm tired."

"Do we have work tomorrow?"

"It IS tomorrow you idiot! Now let me sleep!"

"Well if we do have work today, at least we won't be late."

"SHUICHI!!!!!!!"

"Sorry… what time is it now?"

"It's after TWO in the morning! If you DON'T stop talking…"

"Okay, okay. Good night… or wait, good morning."

Suguru leapt off the couch and smacked Shuichi in the back of the head. Shuichi promptly became unconscious. Suguru returned to his side of the couch and fell asleep soon after.

* * *

Yuki stalked into Tohma's office, completely ignoring the protesting cries of Sakano. He flung the door open, snatched the phone away from Tohma's hand and threw it on the floor. "Where is he?" The writer was pissed. 

"I'm sorry, who are you speaking of?" Tohma smiled brightly. "Who is it that you're looking for?" The grinning man picked the phone up. "I'll have to get back to you later. Goodbye." Tohma hung up.

"You know damn well who I'm talking about!" Yuki snarled. "Where is he?"

"He's downstairs, working hard to finish this album." Tohma said simply.

"Don't bullshit me, Tohma. He didn't come-" Yuki froze mid-sentence.

"Now, now, Eiri, you must calm yourself. Shindou-san spent the night at here, toiling over a new song of his. I must say, it is quite unlike his other songs. He and Suguru completed the song all on their own. They slept in the lounge. Have you forgotten about the quality of our security system here?

"This is a place of business and after a certain hour, no one can leave and no one can come in. If I believed the two of them were unsafe, I never would have left the building myself." Tohma loved the furious look on Yuki's face. He knew what was really bothering the writer. "I believe the two of them are having brunch in the cafeteria." Yuki wordlessly left Tohma's office.

* * *

"Do you really need that much pocky?" Suguru shuddered in disgust, staring at Shuichi's full tray of food. 

"Of course I do!" The singer began inhaling all of his food, which contrasted with the slow, graceful way Suguru ate his food. (In actuality, this was Shuichi's third tray of food and Suguru's first.) "I can't explain it, but I'm extra hungry today!"

"Lovely." Suguru wiped his mouth with his napkin. "So… since K-san gave us the day off, what are you-"

"We can spend the day together! Newfound friendship, remember?" Shuichi proclaimed loudly, causing half the cafeteria to look at them.

"Would you keep your voice down? I'm not going _anywhere_ with you if you act like this the whole time." Suguru sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sorry…" Shuichi stuffed some rice in his mouth.

"Why don't we go back to my place and figure it out?" Suguru stood up quickly. "And before you ask, just bring the pocky with you!"

"Okay!" Shuichi picked Suguru's tray up and put it on top of his. "I'll throw it out!" He skipped over to the garbage can. After putting the now empty trays on top of the garbage, he whirled around and found himself facing Yuki. The boy let out a surprised squeak. "W-what's the matter with you?"

Yuki grabbed Shuichi by the wrist and pulled him closer. "You don't have the decency to call and tell me you're not coming home? Why the hell would you spend the night here?" Yuki demanded.

Shuichi's eyes narrowed at Yuki. "It's not my home! It's yours! And I can stay out however late I want! You're not the boss of me!" Shuichi pouted angrily. "And besides, it's not like you actually care where I spend the night. That's why I'm sleeping over at Suguru's. At least he-"

"Shuichi, would you calm down?" Suguru walked over and pushed Yuki and Shuichi away from each other. "People are starting to stare at you." Yuki's left eye twitched.

"Do me a favor, brat. Mind your own business. We're talking here." Yuki snapped furiously, grabbing Shuichi by the elbow.

"Hey! Lemme go!!" Shuichi squeaked, anxiously looking at Suguru.

Suguru let out a sigh. _Stupid newfound friendship…_ "Shuichi _is_ my business. He's _my_ band mate and I cannot allow _any_ distractions to hinder his ability to work. I intend to spend the day with him." Suguru narrowed his eyes. "If you have a problem, I can just call security."

"Yay!!! Thanks, Suguru!!" Shuichi chirped and ripped his elbow out of Yuki's shocked grasp. He put his arm around Suguru's shoulders.

"If I may recall, you have a fiancé who lives to spend time with you." Suguru continued on. "I suggest you spend the day with her instead." Yuki whirled around and stalked off wordlessly. "By the way… I think you should listen to our new recording." Shuichi's jaw dropped open.

"Suguru!!! Why would you say that? He can't listen to it!" Shuichi stole a look at Yuki's back. "I hope he didn't hear you." A wild blush covered his cheeks. _I don't want him to know… how upset he made me feel._

"It would serve him right. He can't get away with hurting you." Suguru snatched Shuichi by the wrist and stomped off. Neither of them noticed that Yuki had frozen in his tracks.

"So… what are we going to do?" Shuichi asked hopefully.

"Have you ever been to Shibuya?" Suguru grinned widely.

* * *

Yuki sat at his laptop, twirling a CD. Tohma had given him a copy of Shuichi's new song and the blonde had yet to listen to it. The writer was partially afraid. What if it was a song like "the kiss meant nothing" or "did your dog teach you how to make out" or "I'm moving on because I'm sick of you"? 

What was the point of music anyway? Oh gee, I'm depressed. So let me listen to a depressing song. Sure, it'll make me feel better. Sure, I won't cut myself or do drugs because the song can't possibly make me feel any crummier than I actually do. And all those bands and singers are such good role models, too. They're not cross-dressers or druggies and none of them are in desperate need of anger management. And their lyrics, clean and pure as a baby's back.

Cursing in songs? Edited versions? No… there's no such thing. And of course, these artists don't scream and rupture their vocal cords. Because then we wouldn't understand what they're saying. Because those in the music industry, they're oh-so-smart. It's not like their good looks had anything to do with their record deals. No, of course not. It was only their singing talent. That was why producers liked them.

And then, and then there are those gigantic houses. Why of course, they didn't buy those because they wanted to. They're not greedy at all. All those big houses and the guest houses and the dog houses… they're not real. The celebrities don't really live in them. Only an idiot would believe that.

All the extravagance: the game room, the liquor room, the mini-movie theatre in the basement, the bowling alley in the attic, the crib that was shaped to look like a Mustang, the five pools and the tennis court… why, it's all fake. Celebrities don't _really_ have all those. All those magazines and TV shows, they're all lying. They're just jealous that they don't have enough money to feed every starving child in the universe.

Yuki banged his head against his desk. _I did it… again. I really need to stop doing that. One day I'm going to criticize the wrong person and I'm going to get shot._ The blonde sighed deeply and opened the CD-RW Drive, placing the CD inside. _I wonder if this is all just a joke. He didn't write this song because of me. _

**"this is my December  
this is my time of the year  
this is my December  
this is all so clear **

**this is my December  
this is my snow covered home  
this is my December  
this is me alone **

**and I  
****_(just wish that I didn't feel  
like there was something I missed)_  
and I  
****_(take back all the things I said  
to make you feel like that)  
_and I  
****_(just wish that I didn't feel  
like there was something I missed)  
_and I  
_(take back all the things I said to you)_ **

**and I give it all away  
just to have somewhere to go to  
give it all away  
to have someone to come home to **

**this is my December  
these are my snow covered dreams  
this is me pretending  
this is all I need **

**and I  
****_(just wish that I didn't feel  
like there was something I missed)_  
and I  
****_(take back all the things I said  
to make you feel like that)_  
and I  
****_(just wish that I didn't feel  
like there was something I missed)_  
and I  
_(take back all the things I said to you)_ **

**and I give it all away  
just to have somewhere to go to  
give it all away  
to have someone to come home to **

**this is my December  
this is my time of the year  
this is my December  
this is all so clear **

**and I give it all away  
just to have somewhere to go to  
give it all away  
to have someone to come home to**

**give it all away  
just to have somewhere to go to**

**give it all away  
to have someone to come home to…"**

Yuki covered his mouth in shock. Tears filled his eyes. Shuichi's despondent voice haunted his very soul. The song's words were so simple and repetitive, but yet, conveyed so much meaning. Was he really ruining Shuichi's December? Was Shuichi really that upset, that he had written down all of those words? And in English? _I'm an idiot._ The novelist held his head in his hands.

Yuki stood up slowly, still feeling the effects of Shuichi's heart-breaking song. He walked over to the house phone and dialed Shuichi's cell, not bothering to realize that he had memorized it. It rang a few times and then Shuichi picked up.

"Hello? Shuichi speaking!" The energetic boy obviously didn't realize who was calling. Or maybe he only knew Yuki's cell number. "Umm… is anyone there?"

"I need to talk to you… now." Yuki whispered. Silence answered him.

"Y-Yuki?" Shuichi squeaked. Yuki could practically see the singer blushing. "Oh… ok. Umm… ok… I'm coming home." He hung up the phone quickly.

Yuki stared at the phone, a small smile gracing his features. He then quickly dialed another number. It only rang once and she picked it up. _Must've been waiting for my call. Stupid wench._

"Yuki?? I'm so glad you called! I was just about to call you!" Ayaka babbled happily. "How's the CD coming along?"

"I've been under a lot of stress lately… and you aren't helping. I think we should spend some time apart." Yuki stated emotionlessly.

"I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?" Ayaka sounded like she was going to cry. "Yuki, what happened?" The dial tone answered her.

* * *

Yuki paced around his study. He had to make things right. He had to get rid of these guilty feelings. And he wanted Shuichi; there was no doubt about that. So he just had to march up to the boy, look him in the eye and say… 

The novelist jumped as he heard his front door open and shut. The boy was back and Yuki heard him bustling around happily. The blonde hurriedly exited his study, closing the door behind him. He found Shuichi sitting on the couch.

"So… what did you want to talk to me about?" Shuichi instantly asked upon seeing Yuki standing there. Yuki took his seat next to Shuichi.

"I listened to the song." Yuki answered cautiously. Shuichi's purple eyes widened and his gaze fell to the floor. "I didn't realize how upset you were."

"Oh… ok." Shuichi mumbled, wishing he could twiddle his thumbs or something. He was so nervous he could barely move. "It's ok."

"No… it's not. How can I make it up to you?" Yuki inwardly smiled. This was what he really wanted… to spend time with Shuichi.

"Make it up to me?" Shuichi repeated dumbly.

"Tonight, we'll do whatever you want… together." Yuki ran his fingers through his short hair. "So pick something."

"W-well… I don't know. You gotta give me time to think!" Shuichi stood up excitedly. "I'll have my answer in approximately one hour!!!!!!!!!"

"One hour?!?" Yuki reiterated incredulously.

"I'm gonna go do some research on your computer. See you in sixty!" Shuichi leaned over, kissed Yuki on the cheek, dashed to the blonde's study and slammed the door shut. He even heard the singer _lock_ the door.

_What the hell did I just get myself into?_ Yuki wanted to run into traffic… badly. He should have been more specific. In spite of his newfound fear of the future, Yuki actually found himself smiling. The cynic touched his cheek gently, imagining Shuichi's lips. _As long as I'm with him, I don't care what we're doing._

_**

* * *

**_

**Haha... what _does_ Shuichi want to do? Will Yuki keep his word and fulfill Shuichi's wish? Let's vote on it! The choices are down below and the selection with the most votes wins! **

**A. Go to the movies **

**B. Have sex**

**C. Take a walk and get ice cream**

**D. Buy a bubble machine and play with it **

**E. Go to a karaoke bar wasted **


End file.
